Into the Black
by cryo247
Summary: Before Khan was a cold killing machine he was a child. These are the events that unfolded to make Khan the monster he is.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Boy With No Name

On Mara Harrison's sixth birthday she expected to get a bike.

She already had one picked out in her mind. It would be pink with long blue tassels and have large white tires. There would be only two tires since she had no need for training wheels since she learned to ride without them a year ago. It would be her prized possession, something that she would cherish for the rest of her childhood life. Mara knew she would keep the bike in mint condition so she would be able to one day pass it down to her sister Abby, who would be so envious of the bike that she would leap for joy when she received it.

The morning of her sixth birthday Mara woke earlier than she normally did. She threw her covers off herself and hurried down the stairs of their Phoenix suburb house. As Mara skidded into the kitchen she was faced with her mother who was sitting at the island with her head in her hands. Her father, the famed Dr. John Harrison, was standing behind the island leaning his hands against the garnet counter top. He was wearing his work clothes and the wrinkle he had between his eyebrows whenever he was under stress was there. His powder blue shirt was rolled up to his elbows and he was saying something to Mara's mother that Mara couldn't hear.

Mara stood there for a moment waiting to hear what her parents were talking about. Mara wanted to move closer but she didn't want them to know that she was there. For a moment Mara contemplated hiding beside the kitchen door but when she heard someone yawn from the couch she turned her head.

Mara expected it to be Abby. Abby was only three and many nights she would sneak into their parents bed. Abby would use her big brown eyes to guilt their mother into letting her sleep with them. As the youngest child, it was something Abby had the luxury of doing. Mara's days of getting away with sneaking into her parents bed were long gone. Since she became a big sister Mara's duty was to set an example for Abby.

Often, Mara had trouble doing so.

As Mara crept into the living room she wondered to herself why the TV wasn't on. Normally their mother would turn on the TV in the morning so the girls could watch it for an hour before the day began. Mara tip toed around the couch and froze when she saw someone that wasn't Abby sitting there.

There was a boy sitting on her couch. Mara knew that this boy wasn't one of the neighborhood kids since she knew them all. This boy was strange. He was very pale with a head of dark brown almost black hair and chilling blue eyes. His clothes were two sizes too big for him and they were white. Printed on his tee shirt was a series of numbers in ugly black paint. He was sitting ridged with his eyes facing forward and his back perfectly straight. He looked to be a few years younger than Mara. If he knew Mara was there, the boy made no attempt to show it.

Mara knitted her eyebrows together and asked, "Who are you?"

The boy didn't move from his stoic stare. He moved his arm and pointed to the numbers that were printed onto his shirt. Mara titled her head to the side in confusion, "That's not a name silly, those are numbers. No one's name is numbers."

The boy's eyes moved for a moment. He glanced at the little girl standing beside the arm of the couch. Her hair was a mess and she was dressed in a pink night gown. He hesitated as he licked his lips and tried to remember the words that he heard the doctors speak before. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Ashamed, he looked away from the girl.

Mara saw the boy's fear and sat down beside him. She reached forward without fear and took his overly warm hand in hers and smiled, "It's alright. You can talk to me."

The boy glanced back at the girl and managed to say, "I don't have a name."

This time Mara didn't question his lack of a name. She knew that everyone had names, their parents gave them names when they were born. She had a name, it was Margate but everyone called her Mara. Abby's name was Abigail, and Mara knew her parents had their own names. She wondered why the boy didn't have a name.

"Well," Mara said, "What would you like your name to be?"

The boy thought about it for a moment. He never was asked this question because he thought that he and the other children were never going to be given the opportunity to have their own names. They had numbers and that was it. That was the most personal thing he and the other children received. The boy was grateful enough to have his own number, there were a set of twin boys that he remembered who had to share a number.

He didn't hear many names. Occasionally he would overhear the doctors speaking amongst themselves. The boy remembered a kind doctor who came from Pakistan. The Doctor had a son back in Pakistan who the boy liked to hear stories about. The boy's name as Khan, it was supposed to mean strong.

Carefully the boy licked his lips once more. Talking was strange since back with the other children he rarely did it. They were tested on their intelligence and physical strength, not how well they could speak.

"Khan," he said in a hesitant voice, "I would like to be called Khan."

"Khan," Mara tested the name out, "I've never heard a name like that but I like it. My name is Margret but I only like people to call me Mara. Sometimes my dad calls me-"

"Maggie what are you doing?" John Harrison was horrified to see his daughter talking to his creation.

The boy was never meant to be here.

Since the beginning of the project the boy was always the strongest of the group. He was the first successful genetically enhanced being, an Augmented Human, as John and his team called them. He was the smartest out of the group and the strongest. During group interactions the other flocked to him. John never thought that they would take him away from the rest of them.

But the general in charge of the project thought it would be best. If the boy grew up with the other children he would see them as family and not as soldiers. The military didn't spend billions of dollars on this project to have the Augments leader be soft on his soldiers because they were his childhood friends. So the general decided to have the boy removed from the rest of the group. He would be reintroduced to the others when the need arose.

John had approved the plan but he never thought he would be the one to take the boy. He was part of a triumbrant that spearheaded the project but John thought because he had two small girls at home he would be immune to taking the boy. He thought wrong.

Dr. Noonien and Dr. Singh dodged a bullet with this one.

But when John found his eldest daughter sitting on the couch making conversation with the boy he felt fear thick in his throat. His wife, Rebecca, hovered behind John listening. She was just as nervous, this boy wasn't breed to be a child he was bred to be a killer.

"Daddy," Mara said with a cheerful voice, "This is Khan, is he staying with us?"

It was at that moment that Mara Harrison sealed the fate of her whole family.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: On Your Mark

"Captain we found another body," Dr. McCoy yelled over his shoulder.

James Kirk ran over to where his friend was standing over one of the torpedos. All 72 of them were accounted for but they found one hidden in a corner of the Enterprise. McCoy was standing over the torpedo's center staring down at the center.

"What the hell?" Kirk asked as the two looked down. There was a young woman who had to be in her mid-twenties was staring up at them. The rest of the bodies had their eyes closed and looked to be in a perpetual state of bliss but this one was different. Her eyes were open and staring up at them. Her mouth was slightly open and she looked as if she was stuck between life and death.

"What should we do?" McCoy asked. He could see the dried blood and the hole in her shirt from where a bullet lodged itself into her abdomen. If they woke her up they ran the risk of her being exactly like Khan and with Khan still on board neither knew what would happen if they met.

Krik shook his head, "I'm asking Khan about her, you try to unfreeze her."

"Captain with all due respect that's a risk I don't think we can take," McCoy said as he looked down at the half dead girl, "What if she's like Khan?"

"Simple, we can use her to find out what he's really about," Kirk said with a smirk as took a picture of the woman with his PADD then he turned and left. Since they brought Khan on board things we're becoming very unclear. Kirk didn't know if he could trust the man or not. Having this one up on Khan may be just what they needed. Kirk stormed into the brig and dismissed the jailer so he could speak with Khan in private.

The madman was sitting in his cell staring ahead at the white wall. Kirk stood with his hands clasped behind his back and took a deep breath, "We found a 73rd torpedo, with a body inside."

"Impossible," Khan said simply without breaking his ever focused gaze. He thought he armed that torpedo well enough, he thought that he made it so they wouldn't find her.

He thought wrong.

Kirk pulled up the picture on his PADD and turned it so Khan had a clear view. A flash of emotion so quick it was like lightning flickered on Khan's features. Kirk smirked, they found something against him.

-On Earth 297 years earlier-

"Khan, wait up I'm not that fast!" A nine year old Mara whined as she walked behind a much taller Khan. She was dragging her book bag in the grass as the pair shuffled down the street to the bus stop. It was their morning route, the pair would walk to the bus stop together. Rebecca always drove Abby and offered to drive the other two, but Mara insisted they take the bus.

Eleven year old Khan turned to look at his only friend, "Keep up Mara you're just being lazy."

His words held no malice. If it was Abby, he may have meant what he said, but not Mara. Since the day he arrived Mara was Khan's only friend. The two spent every waking moment together. But when they were at school Khan tried to distance himself from her. He didn't want to wear her down, people didn't like him but they loved Mara. Khan didn't want to ruin that.

She narrowed her eyes and blew a piece of hair that fell out of her headband out of her eyes, "Meanie," she mumbled. Khan sighed and stopped for a moment to wait for the smaller girl to catch up. Mara's green eyes lit up as she pulled on her bag and ran to catch up with him.

"Happy?" Khan huffed as they drew closer to the end of their street. A small group of kids were gathered around the stop sign that doubled as their bus stop. Khan gripped the strap of his bag harder when he saw a few boys from his class.

Mara noticed his sudden discomfort and took her friend's hand, "It's okay they won't hurt you."

Khan nodded and squeezed her hand. For the past three years Khan had trouble adjusting to life in suburbia. The kinds on the block shunned him because he didn't speak to them. The Harrison's accepted the quiet but brilliant boy with ease thought. His only friend was Mara, the tiny girl with soft curls and constantly scabbed knees. The kids in his class called him 'freak', 'spaz', 'retard', and anything else that would get a rise out of Khan. For than once he would sit in the coat closet where Mara would find him at the end of the day.

But it as a new year and Khan was determined to make friends.

One of the boys, Tony Davis, turned and smiled as if it was Christmas when he saw Khan, "Look it's the freak and the baby!"

"Hey I'm not a baby I'm nine!" Mara yelled as she took a step towards the boy. She dropped Khan's hand and pointed a finger at the boy, "Don't call him a freak either!"

"Why not that's what he is. The freak didn't speak until he was eight," Tony said as he smiled down at Mara, "You're just as bad, you're a freak just like him!"

Mara narrowed her eyes then punched the taller boy as the bus came. Tony hunched over holding his now bleeding nose as Mara turned smiling as she picked up her bag. Khan stood there shocked, "Mara you're going to get in trouble."

She shrugged, "I know," and turned to board the bus. Khan watched in amazement then reluctantly followed his only friend.

"Freak!" One of the girls in Khan's class called as he walked in. Khan took his seat in the front of the class in a corner and shut his eyes. He counted backwards from ten to calm himself like John taught him. Khan always had anger issues but managed to learn a few ways to control them.

A young teacher with blond hair and a southern accent walked into the room, "Well good mornin' class my name is Ms. Addison and I will be your teacher this year. Now why don't we go around an' introduce ourselves by saying our names and something we'd like to share with the class," she looked around and stopped pointed a manicured nail at Khan, "Why don't you start."

Khan shut his eyes as he let of a quiet groan. His superior hearing picked up on the smirks and comments he got as he stood, "My name's Khan-"

"Full name sweetie," Ms. Addison said with a smile.

"Khan Noonien Singh," his last name was a combination of the names of the scientists that created him, "And I like books."

"Freak!" Tony yelled from the back of the class. Khan turned and glared at the boy as he imagined every way he could kill him. Tony was a small weak human it would be easy. He would strangle- no he would crush his skull and watch as the life left his eyes.

"Now class that's not positive behavior," Ms. Addison said as she tried to mask her look of confusion.

Khan sat down ducking his head, another year another teacher who agreed with his classmates. The class went on introducing themselves then Ms. Addison declared it was math time and began to brush the class up on what they covered last year. Khan sat there creating his own Sudoku puzzles; he knew everything she was teaching them. With his superior intelligence Khan could do calculous, this math was child's play to him.

The rest of the day went on like all the others; kids ignored him in class, made fun of him at lunch, and he ran to find Mara at recess. Like always Mara was sitting on the swings with a few of her friends. They were braiding each other's hair and talking about the vacations they went on over the summer. Khan awkwardly stood on the edge of the playground with his hands stuffed in his jeans waiting.

Eventually Mara looked up from one of her friends' hair. The blond girl whose hair she was braiding moments ago looked at Khan and frowned, "There's that weirdo why is he looking at you Mara?"

"Because he's my best friend," Mara said forcefully as she slid off of the swing. She walked over to where Khan was with her lunch box in tow, "Did they take your lunch again?"

Khan nodded and followed Mara to a secluded part of the playground. The two sat down under a slide that no one used and Mara opened her tin Scooby Doo lunch box. She took out a spare sandwich and juice box for Khan. Very early on Mara found out that it was best to bring two lunches and two sets of clothes with her to school, she never knew when Khan was going to need them.

Knowing he had very little time Khan ate the PB&J sandwich quickly and drank the juice box with in one long sip. Mara sat there cross legged waiting patiently for him to be done. When he finished Mara put his trash into her lunch box and looked at Khan, "Why don't you see if you can be home schooled?"

"No that would show weakness," Khan snapped.

Mara wasn't fazed by his answer, "It's not showing weakness Khan it's being human."

"I'm not human Mara," he hissed as he stood.

Mara folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes, "You're only as inhuman as you want to be."

Khan stormed away from their meeting place. Mara sat there watching him walk away. They always got in these squabbles but they never lasted long. She bowed her head and sighed, she hated these moments.

The bus ride home was in silence. Mara and Khan sat side by side but Mara sat with her back to him staring out the window. Khan was busy reading a chemistry textbook he stole from the library and trying to forget how he snapped at Mara.

"Whatcha readin' freak?" Tony Davis asked as he snatched the book out of Khan's hands, "This stuff is stupid just like you!"

Tony threw the book at Khan's head. It hit him in the nose and a thin trickle of blood dripped down. Mara's eyes widened as she saw his pure black blood. Khan looked down ashamed as Tony pointed a finger at him, "Everyone look the freak has black blood!"

Mara narrowed her eyes and took out her sweatshirt. She handed it to Khan then stood on the seat, "Leave him alone Tony!"

"Why are you standing up for him Harrison?" Tony's freckled face turned into a sneer.

"Because he's my best friend and if you're going to call him a freak then I'm one too!" She said as she crossed her eyes and began to bark at Davis and his goons.

The bus jerked at their stop and they filed out. Mara uncrossed her eyes and took her backpack in one hand then bravely marched off of the bus with Khan in tow.

Later that night the Harrison's sat down to dinner. Mara sat next to Khan like always with her mother and father sitting across from them. Three year old Abby sat at the head of the table eating her third grilled cheese of the day. Mara poked at her food uninterested in eating. Khan was the same way but leaned back away from the food.

"Are you two not hungry again" Her mother asked with a small smile.

Both shook their heads and John smiled, "Alright your plates will be in the oven in case you two get hungry, go run off and play outside before bed."

The two eagerly slipped off of their chairs and ran for the sliding glass door. Khan pulled open the door and the two ran into the small back yard to lay down and stare at the stars.

Mara laid beside Khan with her hands behind her head, "Have you ever wondered what's up there?"

Khan nodded knowing that their argument from earlier was erased, "One day I'll be up there, I'm made for that you know."

"You're not made Khan you were born, I bet out there somewhere you have a mommy and a daddy that miss you," Mara didn't like thinking he was just some lab grown experiment.

The two were quiet for a moment allowing each other to just bask in the night sky. Finally Mara turned to look at Khan's pale face, "Hey Khan."

"Yeah Mara," he asked as he turned and looked at her.

"Will you take me to see the stars one day?"

He smiled and nodded as he squeezed her hand, "Of course."


End file.
